John Peckham, a research professor of theology and Christian philosophy at ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University, has been given the honor of having his book “Why We Pray: The Ultimate Prayer in the Context of Cosmic Conflict” be named one of the top books in academic theology for the year 2024 by Christianity Today, a notable Christian magazine company. In his book, Peckham addresses many of the complex and complicated questions many people have about prayer and communication with God. Although made for the academic setting, “Why We Pray” is intentionally written in a way that is accessible to all who are interested in matters of theology.
“Why We Pray” was released on July 23, 2024, and published by Baker Academic. According to the book’s overview, Peckham takes time to answer various prayer-related questions by using the Bible and insights from one of his previous books, “Theodicy of Love: Cosmic Conflict and the Problem of Evil.” “Why We Pray” is broken up into six sections that look at different angles of prayer. He discusses the necessity of petitionary prayer, understanding the God we pray to, the Lord’s Prayer and its timelessness, the rules and potential problems that can be encountered with petitionary prayer, seemingly unanswered prayers and praying when God seems hidden.
Peckham shared that while he covered some of these topics briefly in his previous book called “The Doctrine of God: Introducing the Big Questions,” he was motivated to explore prayer deeper by some of his students.
“I talked about [it] a little bit in class, and I had ideas,” said Peckham. “I would like to do some work on the so-called problem of petitionary prayer because a lot of people have questions about how prayer works.”
In addition to the topic of prayer being of interest to a lot of people, Peckham also shared that he has contemplated the complexities of prayers ever since his childhood.
“I was a PK, a pastor’s kid … and I remember very vividly at prayer meetings or other kinds of church gatherings,” said Peckham. “I remember people praying that God would heal [a sick] person. ‘Please, God, heal this person if it is your will.’ And I remember thinking to myself, ‘Well, why wouldn’t it be God’s will to heal his servant?’”
Although it took time, Peckham has come to better understand God’s providence and how he communicates with us. This understanding motivated Peckham to want to share this knowledge and advice with others through “Why We Pray.”
“It’s published [as an academic book],” said Peckham, “but I tried to write it very accessibly so that any student and layperson would be able to read it and understand it and grasp it.”
Peckham supplements the success of “Why We Pray” with an impactful and spirit-led career in theology and academia. Before working at ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ, Peckham was a pastor in the Indiana Conference and later taught at Southwestern Adventist University. Upon received his Master of Divinity and doctoral degree in systematic theology from ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University, Peckham rejoined the university as a faculty member of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary in 2013. He has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching and research in his tenure. Peckham is also the main contributor to this quarter’s adult Sabbath school lesson study guide and currently serves as an associate editor of Adventist Review, a sanctioned magazine and newsletter of the Seventh-day Adventist church.
When the Christianity Today awards were announced, Peckham was surprised. “I found out the day that they released it on their website … around the beginning of December.
Regarding the award, Peckham shared that the honor meant a lot to him.
“It’s a great honor and a privilege,” he said. “The Christianity Today book awards are among the most, if not the most, prestigious book awards that one could be awarded. So the fact that they named my book as a finalist for academic theology book of the year was just very humbling and very much appreciated and very encouraging.”
Peckham already has plans for his next book with Baker Academic. “It’s basically on Jesus’ ministry as our high priest and the context of the cosmic conflict,” shared Peckham. The book is due to be released later this year, and Peckham has several other smaller writing projects planned in addition to serving theology students at ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ.
To view a sample of “Why We Pray” or purchase the full book, please visit To view the list of Peckham’s fellow finalists and to learn more about the Christianity Today book awards, go to
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.